The Mileses

Paul and Olena Miles with Grace Abroad Ministries

Christian Life

What is Systematic Theology?

​Systematic Theology is a discipline in Christian theology that divides doctrines into categories. Here are the eleven most epic topics of Systematic Theology:[Read More]

Three reasons why you do not want Jeremiah 29:11 to be about you

​Have you ever seen a conversation like this take place between two believers?

​Believer 1: How is life going, Believer 2?
Believer 2: Oh, life is terrible! My dog left me and I stepped on a LEGO. Things will never get better. Blah blah blah.
Believer 1: Oh no. Be encouraged! The Bible says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Believer 2: Oh, wow! You’re right! Everything is just swell. I think I’ll ride off into the sunset now.

​Believer 1 has just quoted Jer 29:11. If we look at the context of this passage, I think we’ll find that he has actually misused this particular verse (though, I’m sure his intentions were good).

​Now, Jer 29:11 is a source of encouragement for many believers and I don’t want to rob anyone of encouragement. So, I have compiled a list of three reasons why we should rejoice that this passage is not about us. If Jer 29:11 was indeed about us, then:
[Read More]

Judge not?

Many people are quick to quote the first two words of Matthew 7:

​Judge not […] (Matt 7:1a KJV)

​But, did you know that in the rest of the chapter, there are three judgments that Jesus tells us to make about people? Let’s take a look at what Jesus says in the rest of the chapter and see if we can reconcile it with the entirety of Matthew 7:1.[Read More]

How panmillennialism robs Christians

Since the emergence of the Seeker Sensitive Church in America, many local churches have watered down their teaching such that doctrinal obscurity abounds in the pews and pulpits today. Decades ago, Christians would know whether they believed in premillennialism (the belief that Christ’s return will precede a thousand-year kingdom), postmillennialism (that His return is after the millennium) or amillennialism (that the kingdom is now)… but now the most common belief is panmillennialism (that somehow or another, it will all ‘pan out’ in the end).[Read More]